The UC Davis Arboretum Waterway Flood Protection and Habitat Enhancement project is nearing a major milestone, with earthwork and infrastructure set to finish this year—months ahead of schedule. Originally planned to be completed in November 2025, the revised timeline allows Arboretum and Public Garden teams to focus on establishing native plantings on the Waterways’ banks, testing the newly installed infrastructure and restoring areas impacted by the construction – about a year earlier than expected.
For the first time this fall, the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden Plant Sales will be offering a few houseplants alongside our renowned inventory of attractive, low-water, region-appropriate perennials for outdoor gardens and landscapes. This exciting new addition caters to a growing interest in indoor gardening, with a special focus on providing additional options for plant enthusiasts, including students.
Taylor Lewis, our cherished friend and colleague, passed away on August 8, 2024, at the age of 48. Widely known for his smile, welcoming attitude and playful disdain for traditional lawns, Taylor left an indelible mark on the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden community, as well as on gardens throughout the Sacramento region.
On May 30, 2024, under the shade of the UC Davis Arboretum’s 80-plus-year-old cork oak grove, a rarely seen exhibition of cork harvesting took place. This traditional practice, unfamiliar to most Americans, involves the careful stripping of a cork oak’s outer bark without harming the tree.
Restore wetland habitats, care for climate-ready trees, and renovate campus landscapes to better handle a warming climate as a fellow with the California Climate Action Corps at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. In addition to on the ground work, fellows will also undergo training, build networks and work under expert mentors.
Once a year, the Arboretum and Public Garden at UC Davis holds a six- or seven-week training program for people interested in joining the Arboretum and Public Garden as weekly volunteers.
From April 24 to 26, the UC Davis Sheepmowers, a team comprised of several dozen sheep working in partnership with the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden to maintain campus lawns as part of an ongoing research endeavor, join forces with the Big Shift (an ongoing construction project essential to reducing our campus's reliance on fossil fuels). Together, they are collaborating to create "Sheep Shift Climate Poetry."
